Your Creative Intentions: The Monday Post ~ May 20, 2013

by Miranda on May 20, 2013

If you aren’t doing your creative work as often as you’d like, recommit to a regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if possible — is key to staying in touch with how you make meaning.

What are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention or practice plan — and ink that time in your calendar. The scheduling part is important, because as you know, if you try to “fit it in” around the edges, it generally won’t happen. An intention as simple as “I will write for 20 minutes every morning after breakfast” or “I will sketch a new still life on Wednesday evening” is what it’s all about. If appropriate, use time estimates to containerize your task, which can make a daunting project feel more accessible.

Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post. We use a broad brush in defining creativity, so don’t be shy. We also often include well-being practices that support creativity, such as exercise and journaling.

Putting your intentions on “paper” helps you get clear on what you want to do — and sharing those intentions with this community leverages the motivation of an accountability group. Join us!

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If you’re an artist or writer with little ones, The Creative Mother’s Guide: Six Creative Practices for the Early Years is the essential survival guide written just for you. Concrete strategies for becoming more creative without adding stress and guilt. Filled with the wisdom of 13 insightful creative mothers; written by a certified creativity coach and mother of five. “Highly recommended.” ~Eric Maisel. 35 pages/$11.98. Available for download here.

Daily writing practice streak: On Friday I surpassed 100,000 words. So even if only 10% of them are good, that’s still a lot of good words, right? I’m now at 159 days in a row of logging a minimum of 500 words daily in my WIP. It really does add up; almost magically, a book emerges.

This week: My youngest son has no school on Thursday or Friday, so this won’t be a banner week for productivity. Will maintain focus in the time that I have, and do what I can do. Still some heavy lifting for editorial clients. My hamstring injury is still an issue, but after nearly 5 weeks off of it and a visit to the ortho (just a strain) I’m going to test the waters this week and see what happens.

This week I will: Write in my creative journal 5 days. I will paint in my studio for 2 hours daily (Mr Dreamboat is out of town and the kids are done with me by evening hours). I will try a new form of art and I will start an outline for a book.

The outline for the book was written and immediately forgotten. Hmm… A little fear interceding there maybe?

I did do a good deal of painting, even though I ended up meeting my husband on his business trip. I brought my paints and painted here too.

But best of all, and because I put it out here for you to read, is that I got out some clay and did a sculpture of Don Quixote that turned out very much to my liking. It’s a new medium, and you inspired me to do it! Thanks!

rebooting again. had more on my plate and less energy just yet to do all that and be creative, too, while still healing since my last post…intention to go to my now writing partner (rather than group)’s house tomorrow to do three tasks to get me back on track:

1. research and send out to two more agents first novel manuscript,
2. read through the current wip that was shelved for healing period and possible work a little on an outline to contain the wildly imaginative possibilites that stalled me.
3. begin read through writing partner’s current draft.

after a frustrating couple of days of life getting in the way and technical difficulties, i decided it was high time i revisited The Artist’s Way and started my Morning Pages at 5pm yesterday. woke up early to do them today, too, and am starting to remember how much the flow worked better with actual pen and paper rather than digitally writing. of course, the house was up and bothersome with me, but i hung in there and wrote an extra page to get past the interruptions.so this is what I am doing now, reading and working Julia Cameron’s book, so I can get back to when I was at one time in my life writing actively at least 4-6 hours a day.

Ordering some new supplies on Wednesday and trying to get back into the sketchbook habit. I’ve been trying to do a drawing a day that is 20-30 minutes long. This week has been tough since my kids are in their last week of school before summer break and there seems to be nonstop concerts and programs to end the year.

welcome!

Thanks for stopping by! In this creative community, you can share your creative intentions, receive support in making those goals happen, and discuss all things related to creativity. While we're primarily focused on the issues that creative mothers encounter, all are welcome.

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Header image copyright Miranda Hersey.

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